Michael Gove
© Reuters/Peter NichollsMichael Gove
The race for the Tory leadership has narrowed two candidates as Michael Gove was eliminated in a fifth round of voting, leaving former and current foreign secretaries Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt to fight it out.

Home secretary Sajid David was eliminated earlier in a fourth round of voting at lunch time.

Johnson received 162 votes in the fifth round, with Hunt receiving 77.

Johnson has maintained the lead throughout the voting process and is seen as a shoo-in to win the leadership contest and replace Theresa May as the next British Prime Minister.

The final two candidates will now spend one month campaigning before the wider Conservative Party membership will be given the opportunity to vote and decide the winner.

Johnson has been a leading Brexiteer and promised that the UK will leave the Europan Union on October 31 with or without a deal. Hunt, on the other hand, has said he is open to further delaying the exit date and attempting to secure a new deal.